Manchester United outcast Nani second to Cesc Fabregas in assists per minute

Manchester United winger Nani has been in the headlines this week. Not only for a tackle on Angel Di Maria in international action that has the Argentine a doubt for the Arsenal game on Saturday. He has been heavily linked with a move back to Manchester in January from his loan spell at Sporting Lisbon.

Nani has been in good form for Sporting since returning on loan in the summer, as a sweetener to get hold of Marcos Rojo.

However most Manchester United fans will not be praying for his return. In the last two seasons of his spell at Old Trafford Nani struggled for form and fitness and he constantly frustrated United fans with his displays for the club.

But statistically Nani should probably be given a chance.

This Tweet shared by Times journalist Duncan Castles shows that when it comes to assists per minute Nani is second only to assist king Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea...

Even if United did want Nani they will not be getting him back in January. Sporting have confirmed that Nani cannot simply return in January and they expect him to stick around in the Portuguese capital for the time being.

Mathew Nash

I’m Mathew Nash a 27 year old graduate in Sports Studies and I have an insatiable love for sport. With a particularly keen interest for the madcap world of football I have always been known amongst friends as a beacon for bizarre sporting trivia and knowledge. My other passion is for writing and hopefully combining the two will create a superb and entertaining marriage that will create, divide and share opinion.Mathew is a correspondent for the NextGen Series, Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga.